APPOINTED!: Diocesan Director of Education - Diocese of Derby

APPOINTED!: Diocesan Director of Education - Diocese of Derby - Derbyshire

£70,000 - £80,000 + Relocation support - Anglican - Head/Principal
Ref: 150 Date Posted: Monday 13 Jul 2026

THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF A RECENT VACANCY EMMAUS HAVE APPOINTED TO.

 

Location: Derby (Hybrid working)
Contract Type: Full Time
Contract Term: Permanent 
Start Date: January 2027 or earlier

Come and help us offer our children and young people life in all its fullness

Emmaus Leadership have been retained by the Derby Diocesan Board of Education to manage the key appointment of a Director of Education within the diocese.

Derby DBE has oversight of 111 Church Schools across the diocese. Through the Director, Deputy Director and supported by the Senior Business & Operations Manager and Executive Assistant, the DBE works with vigour to support schools and the church to enable the delivery of a distinctive and excellent church school education; all within the context of an ever-changing educational landscape.

At Derby DBE we are tasked with developing an improved understanding of education as mission and realising the potential of our Church Schools in the Church’s ministry to young people.

We are looking to appoint a relational, strategic, gospel hearted and  enabling Director of Education  who works collaboratively to support the Diocesan Board of Education in its statutory role and to lead our work in Education.   You will play a key role in shaping educational strategy across the diocese, influencing schools, Multi Academy Trusts and wider partnerships, and contributing to diocesan leadership as a trusted and respected voice.

This role offers an amazing opportunity to influence and impact the lives of over 10,000 children each year. We aspire to hold a significant place locally, regionally and nationally where we can have influence for the greater good.

We are looking for someone with a:

  • Passion for serving children and young people through Church Schools
  • Strong track record as an inspiring Headteacher or MAT leader with a demonstrable understanding of how excellence in education can be enabled
  • Caring, pastoral approach to supporting our people working on the ‘front line’ in our schools
  • Drive for excellence and inspiring others to the principle of Christian distinctiveness in education

Now is a moment of real opportunity within the educational and Christian life of the diocese, which makes this post an extremely attractive and rewarding career opportunity. 

A requirement of the post is that applicants must be practising Christians.

For an initial informal chat please call Liam Dowds, our Emmaus Advising Consultant, on 01737 652 043 or email him at ldowds@emmausleadership.me for an Application pack.

All conversations will be held in the strictest confidence.

DO NOT APPLY ONLINE. ALL COMPLETED APPLICATIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED VIA EMAIL.

Derby DBE is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We particularly welcome applications from under represented groups including ethnicity, gender, transgender, age, disability, sexual orientation or religion.

"Emmaus brings a level of professionalism, seen in other industry sectors, to church schools’ recruitment."

The Rt Rev Nick Baines - Anglican Bishop of Leeds

"We tried going it alone to find a CEO for our MAT but had only 2 applicants who didn't meet our requirements. We approached Emmaus and from the start their professionalism was reassuring."

Barry Leyland, Chair - Blessed Edward Bamber Catholic Multi Academy Trust

"This is the second time our Governing Board has used the services of Emmaus Leadership in the successful appointment of a new headteacher and we have no hesitation in recommending them to others."

Rosemary Johnson, Chair of Governors - Lowton CE High School

"Could we afford it? My belief, as Chair was that we couldn’t afford not to. We needed strong school leaders to be drawn to apply. Our success was down to using Emmaus and definitely money well spent."

Carry Lynott - Chair of Governors, Our Lady and St Brendan's Catholic Primary School, Bradford

"We are delighted with the appointment we made and I have reported to the whole community that we could not have been more thorough in the search or more rigorous in the selection process. Thank you Emmaus Leadership."

Jacqui Feely, Chair at All Hallows Catholic College, Macclesfield

"I have no hesitation in commending Emmaus to any school that is seeking to appoint a Christian Headteacher. In particular, Emmaus’ ability to promote the school, assess the ethos of the school and communicate this within the networks of those who might be considered as possible candidates was invaluable."

Clive Purser, Chair of Governors, St Andrew's CE High School for Boys, Worthing

"Thank you for everything you did to successfully support our recruitment of an outstanding Headteacher and Deputy Headteacher. Using Emmaus Leadership to manage the recruitment to the post was much debated and was the subject of intense scrutiny by our Governing Body who were somewhat reluctant to use a leadership recruitment specialist. However, their confidence was reinstated as a result of your professional approach, your insightful knowledge and the resulting candidate pool produced for both appointments. I have no hesitation in recommending Emmaus to other schools."

Annie Sutton - Executive Principal, St Joseph's RC Specialist School and College

"I approached Emmaus following our unsuccessful attempts to recruit Deputy DDEs for both Dioceses. They went on to source a far greater number of candidates of high calibre. I highly recommend Emmaus!"

Canon Carolyn Lewis, Director of Education - Diocese of Leicester and Diocese of Derby

"From prospective applicant through to newly appointed CEO at Tenax Schools Trust, I cannot speak highly enough of the services provide by Emmaus.  I recommend Emmaus Leadership without reservation."

Mark Cole, Chief Executive Officer - Tenax Schools Trust

"…we also considered other external recruiters, but Emmaus were clear favourites in terms of their recruitment expertise and in-depth knowledge and appreciation of the catholic school’s sector."

Peter Giorgio, Director of Education, Nottingham Diocese

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